Family forced to carry body in cycle-rickshaw in Uttar Pradesh: Railway police pulled up for denying ambulance

Banda (UP): The Banda district administration on Monday held the Government Railway Police (GRP) responsible for the incident in which a family had to carry the body of their relative on a rickshaw for post-mortem.

The video of the body being carried on the rickshaw had gone viral on social media and local news channels.

Banda (UP): Dead body of man carried in a rickshaw followed by Government Railway Police (GRP) constable sitting in an e-rickshaw. (July 8) pic.twitter.com/r2e515Mji8

"Instead of arranging for an ambulance to carry the body of Ram Asrey, it was taken on a rickshaw. This was revealed in a probe carried out by SDM Sadar. Prima facie, the GRP has been found guilty," Banda district magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh told.

"The GRP police station in-charge, in his written statement, had said that the family members of the deceased had come to the police station and willingly took the body on a rickshaw for post-mortem," he said.

The district magistrate also mentioned that the SDM, in his report, has categorically stated that GRP should have contacted a hearse van or the chief medical officer to arrange for an ambulance.

Representational image. AFP

"But, the GRP showed laxity," he said. GRP police station in-charge Indramohan Barola, reacting to the charges, said, "The government has made a provision of making Rs 1,000 available to carry out the last rites of an unknown body, but in case the body is identified, the rule is not applicable."

"In this case, the onus of taking the body for post-mortem lies on the family members of the deceased," he said.

Family members of 44-year-old Ram Asrey were forced to carry his body on a rickshaw for post-mortem after health officials allegedly refused to provide an ambulance.

The body was recovered from a railway track on 8 July near Atra Railway Station.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Santosh Kumar had on Sunday said that the family members of Asrey had not given any information for requirement of an ambulance.

Last month in Kaushambi, the uncle of a seven-month-old girl had to carry her body on a bicycle as his plea for an ambulance fell on deaf ears.

In May, a labourer had to carry the body of his 15-year-old son on his shoulders after allegedly being turned away by doctors at a government-run hospital in Etawah.